Acceleration - How fast you reach your top speed. Good acceleration means quick recovery from Items that hit you.

Weight - Affects both how far you drift off course when you power slide and how much you are affected by other drivers who hit you. Lighter karts get knocked around more. Heavier karts drift farther off course.

Handling - How close you stick to a corner. Bikes have much better handling than karts.

Traction - Allows you to traverse routes off of the main track faster.

Keep in mind that all 30 characters fall into one of the seven Weight Classes. Each weight class also has an impact on the five stats.

Unlockable Vehicles and Parts

In any mode, collect Coins found scattered about the Tracks to unlock more karts, bikes, wheels and gliders. If you play with more than one person, their coins will also contribute to your game's overall coin count and you will unlock items faster. Vehicle customization parts unlock randomly at 50 coin intervals -- similar to Mario Kart 7. The interval changes to 100 coins per unlock after you pass 1000 coins.

How to Unlock: Get at least one star on every regular Grand Prix (150cc) and Mirror Mode race to unlock the Gold Standard kart. You'll need to get 1st place in 3 out of the 4 races for a score of 55 or higher for a single star.